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Musk’s xAI sued over Grok deepfakes – this time, by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/17

The mother of one of Elon Musk’s children is suing his AI company, saying its Grok chatbot allowed users to generate sexually exploitative deepfake images of her that have caused her humiliation and emotional distress. Ashley St Clair, 27, who describes herself as a writer and political strategist, alleged in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in New York City against xAI that the images have included a photo of her fully dressed at age 14 that was altered to show her in a bikini, and others showing...

Tai Po fire relief fund to earn interest from fixed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/17

The HK$4.4 billion (US$564 million) donated for Tai Po fire victims will grow gradually with interest earned from fixed deposits, the home affairs minister has told the Post, adding the money will also fund long-term resettlement. In an exclusive interview with the Post on Friday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said the fund’s accountant, the Treasury, had put an “appropriate amount” of the unallocated donated money into fixed deposits. “Some say, ‘you are just

Unaware of owner’s death, loyal China dog waits daily...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/17

A pet dog in China has been waiting outside his owner’s home for weeks, unaware of his passing. Refusing to eat or drink, the loyal canine has captured the hearts of countless social media users. This touching story, centred around the dog nicknamed Ah Wang, has drawn comparisons to the 2009 film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, inspired by a true story from Japan in the 1920s. In the film, the dog Hachi waits every day for its owner at a railway station for 10 years following his death, until the day it...

Vietnam’s To Lam eyes supreme power, seeks presidency...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/17

Vietnam’s leaders convene next week for a once-every-five-years congress, where General Secretary To Lam is looking to cement control over the Communist Party ruling one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. The nation of 100 million people is both a repressive one-party state and a regional economic bright spot, with the party seeking to deliver rapid expansion to underpin its claim to legitimacy. But its leaders face challenges from tensions between its main trading partners, the United

Philippines enters its ‘hour of danger’ in Marcos vs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/17

For the Philippines, 2026 promises to be a roller-coaster ride of political intrigue as President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his deputy lock horns in an existential clash that risks tanking the economy, dividing military loyalties and derailing Asean’s regional diplomacy. “It will be a very messy year both in politics and the economy,” Philippine Congressman Edgar Erice told This Week in Asia. A showdown now seems all but inevitable: Vice-President Sara Duterte enters 2026 with an approval

Man found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of San...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

A man has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an elderly Thai man whose 2021 killing in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian-American violence. A jury did not find Antoine Watson, 24, guilty of murder when it returned a verdict on Thursday for the January 2021 attack on Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84. Jurors found Watson guilty on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault. The office of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke

Trump names Blair, Rubio to Gaza ‘board of peace’

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force. Trump named members of a board to help supervise Gaza that was dominated by Americans, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in a territory that lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment. The step came after a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern Gaza

Trump shrugs off concerns over Canada-China EV deal,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

US President Donald Trump on Friday brushed aside concerns over a Canada-China trade deal involving Ottawa agreeing to reduce tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, saying it was “a good thing” for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to pursue the deal.“That’s OK. That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said, when asked about the agreement announced earlier in the day. The remarks not only...

Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Army helicopters rescued people stranded on rooftops and hundreds of tourists and workers were evacuated from one of the world’s biggest game reserves, as torrential rains and flooding in three countries in southern Africa killed more than 100 people, authorities said on Friday. The death toll across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is an accumulation after weeks of heavy rains. Weather services issued warnings that more rain was on the way, possibly bringing more destructive...

Counting China’s wins and losses among ‘swing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

It took the United States less than three hours to stun the world with its abduction of the sitting leader of a sovereign state, but the strategic ramifications of that dramatic operation are likely to reverberate for decades. In laying bare the limits of China’s economic-centric diplomacy towards third countries in its competition with the US, the Venezuela crisis has delivered a stark reminder that spheres of influence continue to shape global politics in this new era of great power...

Hong Kong needs to ask the hard questions about its...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Net-zero commitments are now commonplace across Hong Kong’s property sector. Many major developers have announced targets for 2030 and 2050, often framed around energy efficiency, renewable energy and greener buildings. This is welcome. However, as climate ambition becomes the norm, a more uncomfortable question comes into focus: how many of these commitments are grounded in a serious understanding of what decarbonisation actually entails? What remains largely missing from Hong Kong’s climate...

Machado says Venezuela will be free with support of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Friday her country was starting a “true transition” to democracy and would become free with support from the US and President Donald Trump. Trump, however, has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice-president Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the January 3 US military operation that seized Nicolas Maduro. “We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy,”...

Trump thanks Iran for ‘cancelling’ hanging of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

US President Donald Trump took the unusual step on Friday of thanking the Iranian government for not following through on executions of what he said was meant to be hundreds of political prisoners. “Iran cancelled the hanging of over 800 people,” Trump told reporters while leaving the White House to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He added, “and I greatly respect the fact that they cancelled”. The Republican president also suggested on his social media site...

Trump says he may tariff countries that don’t back US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

US President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital. Trump for months has insisted that the US should control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Nato ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in US hands would be “unacceptable”. During an unrelated...

Iran cleric demands death for protesters, threatens...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran’s capital demanded the death penalty for protesters detained in a nationwide crackdown and directly threatened US President Donald Trump, showing the rage gripping authorities in the Islamic Republic over demonstrations that have challenged their authority.Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami’s sermon, carried by Iranian state radio, sparked chants from those gathered for prayers, including: “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!” Executions, as well as...

Contractors’ botches lead to bans on bidding for Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Contractors at the centre of construction botches at three Hong Kong light public housing sites last year have been banned from bidding for public projects for up to a year, the government has said. The firm responsible for overseeing work quality, Able Engineering, has also been ordered to pay the extra costs for fixing the problems. It also faces a disciplinary hearing for alleged “serious negligence or misconduct in the construction works”, and a possible criminal investigation by

Hong Kong passport ranks 15th globally, rising 3...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Hongkongers hold the world’s 15th most powerful passport, up three places from last year, according to an index measuring visa-free access. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport offers visa-free access to 171 destinations, according to this year’s Henley Passport Index released last week. Singapore retained the top ranking for the third consecutive year, granting its citizens visa-free entry to 192 destinations. However, data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department shows that...

Hongkonger reported missing in Iran ‘for many days’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Immigration authorities have confirmed receiving a plea for help concerning a Hong Kong resident reported missing “for many days” in Iran, as the country faces a nationwide internet shutdown amid protests against the government. A spokesman for the Immigration Department said on Friday that it had received “a relevant inquiry” and was in touch with the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ local arm in the city. A source confirmed that the inquiry came from

China’s charm offensive: Beijing bypasses Brussels in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

Hua Chunying, China’s foreign vice-minister, beamed this week as she presented a leading Czech lawmaker with a decorative porcelain plate – a gift that signalled a possible thaw in ties between Prague and Beijing. The image sent tongues wagging in Europe: a symbol that a new Chinese charm offensive towards a Europe jilted by its erstwhile ally across the Atlantic had reached even its most hawkish capitals. China has spent the opening weeks of the year courting European governments, offering...

Tesla’s defeat, Harvard’s success, Trump ‘top global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/16

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. BYD’s win, Tesla’s defeat, Ford’s pivot: the widening gap in US-China EV markets After years of competing head-to-head with China in electric vehicles, the United States is now widely seen as falling behind – a reality increasingly acknowledged even within Detroit. Read the full story...

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